Material handling vehicle



MATERIAL HANDLING VEHICLE Filed NOV. 6, 1943 I I v mmm, %.4 24 39 flights or cross bars 'of -the endless conveyer. It

Patented Jan. 30, 1945 V W TF1 2,36 8,1:14- I MATERIAL .HANDLING ysmom.

Frank .Cartlidge, a Chicago, 111., assignor to Good- .man SManufactuning \(lomnanx, flhicago, 111.,- in

corporation-ofilllinois Application November 6, 1943, Serial No. 5095187 .5 Claims.

This invention relates "to improvements in material handling vehicles, .and more particularly "to rubber-tired mine cars commonly known as shuttle cars oribuggies, used fortransportin :eoal from a loading machine at the working face of amine to a discharge station such as amine car or a belt conveyer in the main haulage entry. Shuttle cars of this type usually consist of a selfpropelled car or a trailer car'having a coal carrying compartment and an endless flight conveyeriform'ing the bottom thereof. Such cars are usually loaded at one end from the .overhanging boom of aloadingmachine and'the bottom conveyer of the car isinterrnittently-moved towards the opposite or discharge end of'the car so as ,to distribute the "load evenly over 'the full length of the coal compartment. 'After' the car is fully loaded it is :driven to its dischargestation, where the bottom conveyer is again operated to unload the entire contents of the car from its discharge end.

One of the difficulties heretofore encountered with cars of this type is that of spillage of material-at the discharge end of the coal compartment, either while "the car is being loaded or while it is being guided or driven-t0 the discharge station. 'To avoid such spillage it has been proposed to provide moyablegates of "various kinds arranged toiclose the discharge end of the compartment until the ear is to be unloaded. One form of endgate proposed *for this purpose is hinged .or pivoted on a transverse axis near the top of the compartmentso as to be swung upwardly and away from the discharge opening when the coal is being unloa'ded. Gates of this will be. understood that this conveyer is often operated while the gate'is closed so as to distribute the load evenly o er the full length of spring*pressedplatemenibenso disposed with'respect to the moving conveyer-flight and the -ad-' jacent 1,bottom of. the discharge passage as to maintain asubstan'ti'ally tightfieal-against spillage without interfering with the normal movement of the conveyer.

The invention may best be understood with reference to.the accompanying drawingin-which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentarygside View showing the discharge end .of a'shuttle car "to which the invention is applied;

Figure? is an enlargedwiew "showing details of the end gate in closedposition, and with-the stripper plate in lowered position;

,Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure '2 but showing the stripper plate-raisedby engagement with a.conveyer flight; and I Fi ur 4 i n end view of :the icanshowing the .stripper plate lowered altlthe left side and raised 20 .at the right side of :the figure.

Referringnow to :details of the "embodiment of the invention illustrated :in the drawing, the end gate "structure "isrshown as applied to the 'front has tit upper reach movable longitudinally along the 'fioor plate i2 tofdischargethe coal from'one end of the compartment. The conveyer consists o'fapa'irof laterally'spaced chains 15, F5, having a plurality .of flights or bars l6 extending therebetween at spacedfintervals. The'conveyer chains .l 5 15 are trained over "sprockets H M on .a shaft 18 ,at the frontend of the car, and

"the lower reach of the -conveyer'extends rearwardlyas vusual,beneath'thefloor plate l-2. The

the coal compartment, as previously described.

The object of the presentinverition is to overcome the difficulties above .outlined'rby providing a positive closure means along the bottom edge of the end gate, which will permit'the flights of the conveyer .to pass beneath the end gate witho,ut interference'but will .keep the space forsu ch passage closed againstspillage o'f fine .coal and dust at all times.

I n carrying outmyinven'tion I provide-animprovedform orshape of .fii ht or .cross bar and also provide further the end gate with a slidable fmargins eof the side walls -I l ll.

ja transverse shaft 21, having its gends supported conveyermay be driven by power in any suitable manner, as'by amoto-r-fll disposed on the outer side of one of the uprightwalls H. *n'plura1ity .of sup orting wheels :21 have suitable mechanism associated therewith for driving and steering :lthe car as usual.

The end gate structure, forming the subject matter of the present invention is "indicated a generally at 25, and consists of a plate 26 pivotally mounted along its upper edge between the upper In the form shown herein, the jhinged mounting consists of on thewalls l I, I l :to'provide a pivotal support for the :end plate 26.

The body of the -end' p1 ate ibis-preferzibly'bent as shown in Figures 2 and 3, so as to form upper and lower portions 28 and 29 disposed at an obtuse angle to each other.

A stripper plate 30 is slidably mounted along the bottom edge of the lower gate portion 29 so as to form a movable extension of the latter. In the form shown, said stripper plate is guided for movement along the outer face of the lower gate portion 29 by a strap 3! fixed at its opposite ends to the lateral margins of said gate portion. A pair of slotted guide extensions 3 are formed integral with the stripper plate, and are slidably engaged by bolts 3l2, 3l2, on the outer face of the end gate, as shown in Figure 4.

A pair of springs 32, 32 are suitably mounted.

be housed in cylindrical casings 33 suitably secured to the rear face of the gate. Plungers 34, formed integral with the stripper plate, extend into the lower ends of the casings 33, and have heads 36 abutting the lower ends of the springs. Stops 31, 31, herein mounted on the lower ends of spring housings 33, are provided to engage the heads 36 of plungers 34, to limit the extensible movement of the stripper plate.

In order to cooperate in the stripping action of the extensible plate 30, the transverse flights N of the endless conveyer'are each formed of a strip of metal bent longitudinally in an inverted V-shape, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The advancing inclined faces 38 of said flights are arranged at a suitable angle to engage and raise the stripper plate against the compression of the springs 32, 32 as each flight is moved beneath the lower edge of the end gate. The retreating inclined faces 39 of said flights are preferably disposed at an angle slightly greater than that of the stripper plate 30 when the gate is-in closed position, as shown in Figure 2. The arrangement just described is such that all loose coal or coal dust will be stripped from each of the conveyer flights as it passes under the end gate, thereby maintaining an eflective seal against spillage along the bottom of the gate while the latter is closed. Moreover, the angular relation of the stripper plate and the retreating faces 39 of the fli hts is such as to cause a relatively gradual extension of said plate after it has passed the peak of the flight, so as to avoid a sudden drop of said plate.

Suitable locking means is also provided for the end gate, herein consisting of a pin 40 which is slidably extensible through a side wall ll so as to be engaged at will with a lug 4| fixed on the shaft 21. Operation of said locking pin may be manually controlled by a hand lever 42 supported on the outer face of the side wall, as shown in Figure 4.

The use and operation of the end gate structure above described will now be understood by those familiar with the art. The end gate may be locked in its lowered or closed position while the car is being loaded. The bottom conveyer can be intermittently moved, as usual, to permit gradual loading of the car from its rear end to the front or discharge end, and the stripper plate will keep the coal from spilling along the bottom edge of the gate, both while the car is being loaded, and while it is being transported to its unloading station. The gate may then be unlocked and raised as indicated in dotted lines in Figure l, to permit unloading of the car in the usual manner.

While I hav herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be construed as limiting my invention to the specific embodiment illustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a vehicle for transporting loose material in mines underground, a wheel mounted material carrying compartment having an endless chain flight conveyer movable along a bottom plate thereof for discharging material from one end thereof, an end gate structure normally closing the discharge opening of said compartment and including a plate member transversely pivoted to said compartment adjacent its upper end, a stripper plate slidably mounted on said plate member for yieldable engagement with said bottom plate, and the flights of said conveyer being beveled to engage and lift said stripper plate, so said flights may pass thereunder and said stripper plate may strip material therefrom.

2. Ina vehicle for transporting loose material in mines underground, a wheel mounted material carrying compartment having an endless chain flight conveyer movable along a bottom plate thereof for discharging material from one end thereof, an end gate structure normally closing the discharge opening of said compartment and including a plate member transversely pivoted to said compartment adjacent its upper end, means selectively operable for holding said plate member in a closed position, a stripper plate slidably mounted on said plate member for engagement with said bottom plate, the flights of said conveyer being beveled to engage and lift said stripper plate, so said flights may pass thereunder and said stripper plate may strip material therefrom when said plate member is in a closed position, and means for yieldably engaging said stripper plate with said bottom plate and flights.

3. In a vehicle for transporting loose material in mines underground, a wheel mounted material carrying compartment having an endless chain flight conveyer movable along a bottom plate thereof including a plurality of longitudinally spaced, vertically disposed flights for discharging material from one end of said compartment, an end gate structure normally closing the discharge opening of said compartment and including a plate member transversely pivoted to said compartment adjacent its upper end, said plate memher being bent outwardly intermediate its top and bottom edges so as to form upper and lower portions disposed at an obtuse'angle to each other, the lower end of said plate member being normally at an obtuse angle with respect to the conveyer and having a stripper plate slidably mounted thereon for yieldable engagement with said conveyer and said flights at an obtuse angle to the direction of travel thereof.

4. In a vehicle for transporting loose material in mines underground, a wheel mounted material carryin compartment having an endless chain flight conveyer movable along a bottom plate thereof for discharging material from one end thereof, an end gate structure normally closing the discharge opening of said compartment and including a plate member transversely pivoted to said compartment adjacent its upper end, said plate member being bent outwardly intermediate its top and bottom edges so as to form upper and lower portions disposed at an obtuse angle to each other, the lower end of said plate member being at an obtuse angle with respect to the conveyer and having a stripper plate slidably mounted thereon for engagement with said conveyer at an obtuse angle to the direction of travel thereof, and means for yieldably engaging said stripper plate with said conveyer, to strip material therefrom as said conveyer passes thereby.

5. In a vehicle for transporting loose material in mines underground, a wheel mounted material carrying compartment having an endless chain flight conveyer movable along a bottom plate thereof for discharging material from one end thereof, an end gate structure normally closing the discharge opening of said compartment and including a plate member transversely pivoted to said compartment adjacent its upper end, said plate member being bent outwardly intermediate its top and bottom edges so as to form upper and lower portions disposed at an obtuse angle to each other, the lower end of said plate member being at an obtuse angle with respect to the conveyer and having a stripper plate slidably mounted thereon for engagement with said conveyer at an obtuse angle to the direction of travel thereof, the flights of said conveyer being beveled so as to engage and lift said stripper plate to permit said flights to pass thereby, and means for yieldably engaging said stripper plate with said bottom plate.

FRANK CAR'I'LIDGE. 

